...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Almost Paradise

168 statements
32 feature instances
4 referencing feature instances

Almost Paradise	type	TVTItem
Almost Paradise	label	Almost Paradise
Almost Paradise	page	AlmostParadise
Almost Paradise	comment	Almost Paradise is a 2020 Detective Drama show executive produced by Dean Devlin and Gary Rosen (who previously worked on The Librarians together) and staring another Librarians alum, Christian Kane, as lead Alex Walker (who also worked with Devlin on Leverage) alongside a bunch of Philippine-based actors/actresses due to the show being co-produced by ABS-CBN and Electric Entertainment. It's schedule to air 10 episodes on WGN America and it's available via Amazon Prime. While the language used is English, there are subtitles for non-English languages, including Tagalog.Alex Walker (Kane), a former DEA agent who was forced into early retirement. Once the DEAâ€™s most resourceful undercover operative, the combination of his partnerâ€™s betrayal in a joint operation with the Spanish National Police in Barcelona and a life-threatening battle with hypertension has made him decide to leave the agency and live in Cebu as an expat, where he's employed by Paradise,note The actual shooting location is the Shangri-La Hotel Mactan a resort hotel located in Mactan. While Alex is content to start all over (and while just leaving his only daughter Evelyn to attend her university studies in America), he ruins a Mactan Police-led undercover op. From there, Alex does lend a hand to his new friends in the MPD by using his law enforcement experience while trying to ensure that he pays the bills in Paradise (mostly for rent and other utilities that he may encounter in the hotel) and attends to the needs of the hotel's guests.On June 4, 2020, Devlin announced that all of the show's episodes will be on a streaming platform to gauge potential fan reception for a Season 2, as he was told by WGN America that they cannot back him for Season 2 due to their change in their channel's format (specifically into NewsNation). However, IMDBTv announced that they are willing to back the production of Season 2 depending on how many people are able to watch it online via their website.In February 2022, it was renewed for Season 2, which will be streamed via Freevee. The episodes streamed online on July 21, 2023.
Almost Paradise	fetched	2024-04-25T12:01:24Z
Almost Paradise	parsed	2024-04-25T12:01:24Z
Almost Paradise	isPartOf	DBTropes
Almost Paradise / int_10a6623b	type	Fair Cop
Almost Paradise / int_10a6623b	comment	Fair Cop: Kai fits the bill.
Almost Paradise / int_10a6623b	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_10a6623b	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_10a6623b
Almost Paradise / int_1616e13	type	Ripped from the Headlines
Almost Paradise / int_1616e13	comment	Ripped from the Headlines: Vargas having a criminal network from withing the CPDRC's wall is a recurring problem within Philippine law enforcement that local/foreign criminals being locked up in prisons can still find ways to make contact with their own criminal networks in the Philippines and overseas as long as prison officials and corrections officers are given bribes to look the other way.
Almost Paradise / int_1616e13	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_1616e13	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_1616e13
Almost Paradise / int_1dfd19f9	type	Papa Wolf
Almost Paradise / int_1dfd19f9	comment	Papa Wolf: Evelyn gets kidnapped. Cue Alex arming himself with enough ammo to practically level Cebu and tracking down the people responsible with no outside info. Unfortunately, the Big Bad behind her abduction was counting on this.
Almost Paradise / int_1dfd19f9	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_1dfd19f9	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_1dfd19f9
Almost Paradise / int_22cf536c	type	Chekhov's Gun
Almost Paradise / int_22cf536c	comment	Chekhov's Gun: Alex goes to a lot of trouble to have a large stuffed marlin hanging in the gift shop. His friends point out that marlins are not native to the area but Alex insists that it is his good luck charm. In a later episode we find out that the marlin is hollow and Alex uses it to store his guns.
Almost Paradise / int_22cf536c	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_22cf536c	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_22cf536c
Almost Paradise / int_2493b31d	type	Fire-Forged Friends
Almost Paradise / int_2493b31d	comment	Fire-Forged Friends: Despite starting off on the wrong foot, Alex grows close to Kai and Ernesto the more he is called in to assist them, down to the point where Evelyn refers to them as his "new family."
Almost Paradise / int_2493b31d	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_2493b31d	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_2493b31d
Almost Paradise / int_280333d4	type	Hollywood Heart Attack
Almost Paradise / int_280333d4	comment	Hollywood Heart Attack: Alex suffers one thanks to Evelyn showing up on his doorstep and chewing him out for missing out on most of her life between his undercover assignments during his DEA days and him splitting for Cebu afterward.
Almost Paradise / int_280333d4	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_280333d4	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_280333d4
Almost Paradise / int_29942324	type	ConArtist
Almost Paradise / int_29942324	comment	Even ignoring the fallout from his time with the DEA, Alex didn't have a very good childhood, apparently losing his parents in some unspecified way when young and being raised by his less then ideal Con Artist uncle who frequently made Alex part of his cons.
Almost Paradise / int_29942324	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_29942324	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_29942324
Almost Paradise / int_318d4432	type	Tropical Island Adventure
Almost Paradise / int_318d4432	comment	Tropical Island Adventure: It's set in the Philippines, largely in and around Cebu, so.
Almost Paradise / int_318d4432	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_318d4432	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_318d4432
Almost Paradise / int_33affa42	type	Government Agency of Fiction
Almost Paradise / int_33affa42	comment	Government Agency of Fiction: The Mactan Police Department, which does not exist since the Philippine National Police is the main police force providing general law enforcement functions to the Mactan area. A Freeze-Frame Bonus in "Lone Wolf" shows the State Bureau of Investigation under the Department of Local Affairs, standing in for the National Bureau of Investigation.
Almost Paradise / int_33affa42	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_33affa42	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_33affa42
Almost Paradise / int_3ed23024	type	Surprisingly Realistic Outcome
Almost Paradise / int_3ed23024	comment	Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Working undercover jobs as a DEA agent will take a serious toll on your family life if you aren't able to maintain contact with them and splitting for another country, even if it's on the doctor's orders, without taking them with you compounds the problem. Alex ends up divorced with an estranged daughter as a result.
Almost Paradise / int_3ed23024	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_3ed23024	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_3ed23024
Almost Paradise / int_42fef4ea	type	The Alleged House
Almost Paradise / int_42fef4ea	comment	The Alleged House: Alex did see the gift shop before he bought it but it was fifteen years ago. In the present, the gift shop is in a serious need of repair and the furniture is falling apart. It takes Alex quite some time to fix it up enough that it can be opened up as a business again. It is then subverted when it is revealed that the building is built solid enough to withstand the area's frequent monsoon storms.
Almost Paradise / int_42fef4ea	featureApplicability	-0.3
Almost Paradise / int_42fef4ea	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_42fef4ea
Almost Paradise / int_49d59be9	type	Scenery Porn
Almost Paradise / int_49d59be9	comment	Scenery Porn: The series show off beautiful shots of Mactan, which drew a portion of its viewers.
Almost Paradise / int_49d59be9	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_49d59be9	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_49d59be9
Almost Paradise / int_62f9d08e	type	Freeze-Frame Bonus
Almost Paradise / int_62f9d08e	comment	A Freeze-Frame Bonus in "Lone Wolf" shows the State Bureau of Investigation under the Department of Local Affairs, standing in for the National Bureau of Investigation.
Almost Paradise / int_62f9d08e	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_62f9d08e	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_62f9d08e
Almost Paradise / int_6968c6b0	type	Not So Remote
Almost Paradise / int_6968c6b0	comment	Not So Remote: The opening has Alex talking of having visited the island years ago and loved how quiet it was. He figures this remote spot will be the perfect place to retire...only when he gets there, he discovers the "quiet" island has now become a hugely busy cruise ship port and tourist destination to add to his stress.
Almost Paradise / int_6968c6b0	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_6968c6b0	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_6968c6b0
Almost Paradise / int_6eb4e408	type	Artistic License â€“ Military
Almost Paradise / int_6eb4e408	comment	Artistic License â€“ Military: There's no Cebu Airbase. Even at that, there's no American military presence there.
Almost Paradise / int_6eb4e408	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_6eb4e408	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_6eb4e408
Almost Paradise / int_7cbba5d3	type	Ruthless Foreign Gangsters
Almost Paradise / int_7cbba5d3	comment	Ruthless Foreign Gangsters: The local gangs can be dangerous but they are mostly small-time. However, Mactan's recent growth as a tourist town has attracted many foreign criminals who like to use the location as a new place to do business. In the pilot, a Malaysian drug lord wants to use the area to manufacture a new synthetic form of heroin and he recruits the local gangs as his muscle. He kills the one gang leader who prefers to remain independent then sends out a hit on Alex upon learning (and that was mostly Alex's fault, seeing that he unwittingly interfered a Mactan PD sting in a coffee shop after shopping for some basic DIY renovation supplies for his gift shop) that there is an ex-DEA on Mactan, just to send out a message.
Almost Paradise / int_7cbba5d3	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_7cbba5d3	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_7cbba5d3
Almost Paradise / int_96fbeaf	type	There Are No Therapists
Almost Paradise / int_96fbeaf	comment	There Are No Therapists: Thus far averted, as therapy both physical and mental is part of Alex's hypertension treatments. Whether or not Alex actually does his part to participate in his own therapy is another matter though, but for the most part he tries and is seen talking to his doctor.
Almost Paradise / int_96fbeaf	featureApplicability	-1.0
Almost Paradise / int_96fbeaf	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_96fbeaf
Almost Paradise / int_acecb17d	type	Chekhov's Skill
Almost Paradise / int_acecb17d	comment	Chekhov's Skill: When she was 10 years old Alex taught Evelyn how to free herself from plastic zip ties. This comes in handy when she is kidnapped and restrained with plastic zip ties.
Almost Paradise / int_acecb17d	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_acecb17d	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_acecb17d
Almost Paradise / int_b06bbf4b	type	Be Careful What You Wish For
Almost Paradise / int_b06bbf4b	comment	Be Careful What You Wish For: Not three seconds after Evelyn snaps at Alex that she no longer wants him in her life, he collapses to the ground, the stress of her Calling the Old Man Out having aggravated his heart condition, and has to be wheeled to the Emergency Room.
Almost Paradise / int_b06bbf4b	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_b06bbf4b	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_b06bbf4b
Almost Paradise / int_b5b4b077	type	The Ace
Almost Paradise / int_b5b4b077	comment	The Ace: Prior to them discovering the presence of Alex in Mactan, and him occasionally lending his aid, it was apparent that the local police department had little luck at countering the island's criminal element; in the first episode, he practically awes them (and right in the middle of Kai's presentation, no less) with his in-depth knowledge of how drugs are made in and moved from one country or hemisphere to the next without the presiding authorities being the wiser, along with naming to them the most likely culprit factions orchestrating such stock-in-trade. And it also helps that he's a non-Asian since it allows him to better conduct sting operations on their behalf, more convincingly than any Mactan local, when getting up front with foreign criminals. Kai herself got busted this way, in the second episode, simply because the person whom she and Alex were trying to intercept immediately identified her as not the person he was supposed to meet, all because she was obviously native to the island. Later, after hearing that Alex was rushed to the hospital after a stroke, Kai, Ernesto and Ike all went there to check up on him - showing just how much of a close friend and ally-slash-asset Walker is to them, whom they cannot afford to lose.
Almost Paradise / int_b5b4b077	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_b5b4b077	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_b5b4b077
Almost Paradise / int_bbf11c0	type	Genius Bruiser
Almost Paradise / int_bbf11c0	comment	Genius Bruiser: Alex is a highly-skilled fighter and keen investigator, with years of experience as a DEA operative. Given that he's played by Christian Kane, this is almost a given.
Almost Paradise / int_bbf11c0	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_bbf11c0	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_bbf11c0
Almost Paradise / int_ca7ec334	type	Two Lines, No Waiting
Almost Paradise / int_ca7ec334	comment	Two Lines, No Waiting: In "A Fisherfolk Tale", Alex tries to investigate Ramon's innocence in a murder by looking into someone else, who has ties to a foreign criminal network. The others at Mactan Police try to intervene in a feud between village clans that are about to escalate out of control.
Almost Paradise / int_ca7ec334	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_ca7ec334	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_ca7ec334
Almost Paradise / int_cb70651c	type	Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane
Almost Paradise / int_cb70651c	comment	Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: In S 2 E 6 Ghost Month, Alex may be haunted by the hungry ghost of Victim of the Week Ivan Ramos after deliberately breaking several taboos like don't take photographs after dark and don't take the last bus. Alternatively, he could have seen Ivan's photograph on the memorial wall and had hallucinated him after being told about hungry ghosts. The episode leans toward magic, as Ivan says goodbye to Alex after the crime is solved.
Almost Paradise / int_cb70651c	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_cb70651c	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_cb70651c
Almost Paradise / int_dae5c997	type	Action Girl
Almost Paradise / int_dae5c997	comment	Action Girl: Kai is dedicated to her job as a police officer and definitely able to throw down with anyone who test her.
Almost Paradise / int_dae5c997	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_dae5c997	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_dae5c997
Almost Paradise / int_e5411cdf	type	Cult
Almost Paradise / int_e5411cdf	comment	Cult: "Uncoupled" concerns a wellness group called Hiraya led by a foreigner named Winston Strong.
Almost Paradise / int_e5411cdf	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_e5411cdf	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_e5411cdf
Almost Paradise / int_eb251937	type	Dirty Cop
Almost Paradise / int_eb251937	comment	Dirty Cop: In "Brigade", Alex finds out that corrections officers in the Cebu Penitentiary Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CDPDRC) are under Vargas' payroll.
Almost Paradise / int_eb251937	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_eb251937	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_eb251937
Almost Paradise / int_f237981e	type	The Alleged Car
Almost Paradise / int_f237981e	comment	The Alleged Car: Alex's boat frequently breaks down, often when Alex needs it to go somewhere.
Almost Paradise / int_f237981e	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_f237981e	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_f237981e
Almost Paradise / int_f9876f7e	type	Faking the Dead
Almost Paradise / int_f9876f7e	comment	Faking the Dead: Alex and the Team do this for his Uncle Danny in order to get a hitman off his back.
Almost Paradise / int_f9876f7e	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_f9876f7e	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_f9876f7e
Almost Paradise / int_f9f2c33	type	Running Gag
Almost Paradise / int_f9f2c33	comment	Running Gag: A sad one for Alex as he tries to gets his disability pensions paid up in time. This is explored in "Finding Mabuhay" where he insists that the pension was there is due to Todd Carpenter double-crossing the joint DEA-SNP task force. In general, the 'late pay' running gags are rather a common and recurring element in many Philippine-broadcasted sitcoms and gag shows. In connection to this, Alex tends to be highly impressed by how big payouts can be for some activities on the island, only for the locals to point out how little the amounts come out to in dollars.note As of the time the show takes place, an American dollar is equivalent to about 55 Philippine pesos. Again, it's mainly justified by Alex living on pension and whatever profits he can turn from the giftshop. Alex does not have a car and is usually broke so regularly has to ask Kai or Ernesto to drive him to his destination. When Alex's daughter Evelyn shows up, Kai and Ernesto wonder how a father and daughter can be so different until Evelyn asks them for a ride to the airport and they finally acknowledge that she is a Walker. Alex often has trouble understanding words spoken in Tagalog and had to be translated for him by Ernesto, like in the first episode where a local gangbanger tries to intimidate him in the native tongue or when he has to be told the Filipino equivalent of the word "typhoon" just when one was brewing outdoors leaving his gift shop unprepared and completely vulnerable, leading up to scenarios and confrontations at his expense.
Almost Paradise / int_f9f2c33	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_f9f2c33	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_f9f2c33
Almost Paradise / int_fed93e1b	type	Dark and Troubled Past
Almost Paradise / int_fed93e1b	comment	Dark and Troubled Past: Even ignoring the fallout from his time with the DEA, Alex didn't have a very good childhood, apparently losing his parents in some unspecified way when young and being raised by his less then ideal Con Artist uncle who frequently made Alex part of his cons. Kai was a former juvenile delinquent who cleaned up her act when her mother was murdered when she was young.
Almost Paradise / int_fed93e1b	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_fed93e1b	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_fed93e1b
Almost Paradise / int_ffad4e9f	type	Shown Their Work
Almost Paradise / int_ffad4e9f	comment	Shown Their Work: Given that English is one of the Philippines' national languages and lingua franca other than Tagalog, it justifies a lot of the language's usage in the show; as an American, it still allows Alex to communicate with the locals well enough.
Almost Paradise / int_ffad4e9f	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_ffad4e9f	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_ffad4e9f
Almost Paradise / int_name	type	ItemName
Almost Paradise / int_name	comment
Almost Paradise / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Almost Paradise / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Almost Paradise / int_name
Almost Paradise / int_name	itemName	Almost Paradise

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Almost Paradise	hasFeature	International Coproduction / int_d72722ac
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Relationship Chart / int_d72722ac
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	Series of the 2020s / int_d72722ac
Almost Paradise	hasFeature	The Place / int_d72722ac

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.